Ultimate NME Troubleshooting Thread!

I figured i'd put these back up for people so this place doesn't seem to damn empty, lol. Remember that checking o-rings is a given and I’m not going to state every time that you should check them.

Having problems with the board? Need the manual? Then scroll down to my 3rd post

Issue 1) Help! My NME is chopping like a blender! Solutions: 1) Check your eyes. Make sure they are clean, check the breach for obstructions, and paint as well. 2) Back out bolt by using set screw in the back of your ram cap. Back out the bolt until you can drop a ball into the breach and it falls unobstructed but DOES NOT ROLL OUT OF VIEW OF THE EYES. Also, be sure to check with multiple balls because not all paintballs are identical. 3) Raise your BIP delay setting. This setting changes the amount of time the bolt is in the “back” position before checking for another ball in the breach. The factory setting is 10ms. My setting is 5ms. 4)Check your detents. Damaged and old detents cause rollouts, doublefeeds, and chops. If your detents aren’t cutting it use the ones make by PBK. These can be found at paintballkingdom.com. 5) Check for pinched/damaged eye wires in the grip frame and eye covers. 6) Check your eye mode. The NME tends to chop in eye mode 1 for some reason. Be sure its eyes are not off and its not in simulate mode either. Change to eye mode 2.

Issue 2) I am getting massive drop off after only a couple of shots! Solutions: 1) Check your HPR and LPR settings. Every NME is different but the screw in the bottom of the HPR should NEVER be past flush. If it is screwed in too deep you can damage the pin inside the reg. Most people have one or two threads showing on the screw for 280fps. The LPR should NEVER go far past 90psi or you run the risk of damaging your solenoid. The normal setting for the LPR is about 80 for most people but some people have been able to bring it down to about 50-60. Be sure to set your LPR when your tank has more than 800psi or the pressure in the LPR may jump unnoticed. 2) Check your dwell. Normally I say never mess with your dwell because a bad setting can either cause drop off or bad efficiency. I’d check it and bring it back to 7.0ms. 3) Check your tank/ASA. This is only for if you have the stock ASA (I’m saying this because a lot of people change them out). The stock ASA is kind of weird in that if you screw in both the tank and the knob on the ASA all the way it will restrict air flow and cause drop off. To remedy this all you have to do is screw in the tank all the way and then UNSCREW it about a ¼ turn. Then start to screw in the ASA knob until you feel the gun pressurize, then continue to screw it in about two more turns then stop.

Issue 3) My gauge reads zero and there is no air going to the bolt! Solutions: 1) Check for pinched hoses in grip frame. Reroute if necessary. 2) Check HPR assembly and o-rings (to be sure that air is coming out of the HPR, just unscrew the HPR from the body but leave it intact and connected to the macroline. Then screw in your tank and on/off and check for airflow) 3) Check LPR assembly and o-rings. The most common time that this issue happens is after someone lubes their LPR and unknowingly putting something in backwards. The most common piece is the metal piece that fits behind the spring in the nose of the LPR behind the adjustment knob. Just take it out and put it in the right way. If it is in backwards, it won’t depress the pin in the LPR and allow air flow. 4) Check for clogged hoses. Maybe you over lubed your regs and the lube got stuck in a hose. Just clean them out with a very thin pin or replace. (not a very common problem though)

Issue 4) My bolt has pressure and the gun is on but nothing happens when I pull the trigger! Solutions: 1) Check your batteries, it may not have enough juice to power the solenoid. 2) Your Solenoid may be fried. Not quite sure how to check that but its a possibility. 3) Is marker firing in simulation mode? A. If Yes check detents / Bolt Position, make sure the ball has about a 1 millimeter gap between the bolt and detents. B. If No, 1b) Check your batteries, it may not have enough juice to power the solenoid. 2b) Your Solenoid may be fried. Listen for click with no air applied in simulation fire mode. No click = toasted noid.

Feel free to add ideas, issues and solutions and i'll edit them in and give you credit.

Thanks to Rymx (Issue 4, Solution 3)

"Sanity: Uniting likeminded individuals of the world since forever." "Insanity: Progressing the Human race one step at a time""It can shoot so fast your hopper will catch fire and explode due to the frustration of trying to keep up." ------------------------------------------------------System XNME LEBlack/Silver,Predator,ACPB Low Blow Bolt, 7pc. Macdev Matchstik, Macdev Gladiator,Halo B

"Okay, SO, if you're having BPS problems, that typically means one (or, if god hates you, more) of 3 things: low pressure/airflow, electronic cycling issues, and cycling issues in general

because you're not really getting shootdown, i'd like to rule out that you have air flow problems.

so that leaves electronics and general cycling issues. and i think you have a bit of both. okay, first, reset the board and put the gun on eye mode 2. set the BIP delay to 3 or 4 and LEAVE IT.

NEXT, relube the ram and poppet, but this time, use 15% less grease. there should not be a thick layer on each o-ring, only enough to make it smooth. same with the poppet, but put some in the excess space around the oring as well.

now, get some blowback oil (the thin stuff-baby oil should work too) and dab a bit on your fingers and then use your fingers to dab the oil on the o-rings on the bolt. no, it won't swell, don't worry. also, remove the front o-ring; all it does is kill your detent.

FINALLY, adjust your detents and bolt position so that the ball will just fall straight in the breach but cannot roll out of the way of the eyes. if it rolls around too much, that is a guaranteed chop in eye mode 2. just by looking at the detent position with the eye covers off, it should about mid, or back a little, just to give you an idea. they don't necessarily need to be in the same spot relative to the slots to be even with each other, so alight them by looking down into the breach.

the bolt should be flush with the back on the breach. this can be tested by just running your finger over it. it should not be too far forward, as this will cause some issues too. a good test to see if everything is good, is to take 10 balls and just manually drop each one in. if it gets hung up AT ALL on the way down (like on a ledge or one the detents) FIX IT. use the adjuster on your ram cap to adjust the bolt position, but be careful not to over tighten the ram cap, cuz then you'll need a wrench to remove it (which will scratch it). so i suggest already fitting a crescent wrench to it, put the gun between your legs and hold the wrench while you adjust (strap wrenches are even better)."

"Sanity: Uniting likeminded individuals of the world since forever." "Insanity: Progressing the Human race one step at a time""It can shoot so fast your hopper will catch fire and explode due to the frustration of trying to keep up." ------------------------------------------------------System XNME LEBlack/Silver,Predator,ACPB Low Blow Bolt, 7pc. Macdev Matchstik, Macdev Gladiator,Halo B

Alright, here's the manual in text form that i dug up, too. figured it'd be a good addition.

----EDIT----I went through the whole thing bolding all of the tiles and some important parts. Later I will update with my own notes on certain sections and tips, but that's for later when i have time. Cheers! ----EDIT----

The Equalizer has numerous features, which can be a bit overwhelming to those that are not use to having so much flexibility. However, every possible step has been taken to make sure that the use of this product is extremely simple.

Turning on the Equalizer

To turn on the Equalizer, press and hold the power button (located on the back of the grip frame) for ½ of a second, and release it. The LED should light solid orange or flickering orange and stay that way for several seconds after releasing the button.

Turning off the Equalizer

To turn off the Equalizer, press and hold the power button until the LED becomes solid red, and then release the button. The LED will blink red while the button is being held, this is normal.

Bypassing the Eye System

In order to be able to “dry fire” the marker, the eye system must be bypassed. When the eye system is enabled, the marker will not fire unless there is something in the breech. To bypass the eye system, press and hold the power button for ½ second. The LED will then blink orange (instead of green) indicating that the eye system has been bypassed. Repeating this procedure will enable the eye system.

General Usage Tips

The LED boot sequence is as follows: solid or flickering orange (booting), followed by either solid green (normal mode) or solid red (competition mode). The LED will be flickering orange at boot-up if the Firing Mode is not set to semi-auto. Viewing the LED boot-up is an easy way for tournament organizers to determine if the marker is in a semi-auto mode, and/or locked. The rate of fire is limited only by how fast the pneumatics will cycle, how fast you can pull the trigger, and how fast your loader can feed your marker. Because the Equalizer can easily exceed the feed rate of any loader in existence, it is recommended that you use a force-feed type of loader for the best possible performance.

LED Colors and Meanings

The LED used with the Equalizer can light up in one of 3 different colors. The Equalizer uses this to indicate to the user when certain events are occurring. This is a breakdown of what the LED states represent:

Red/Green toggle: There is an error with the anti-chop system (Eye Mode 2 only).

Flickering green: object is in the breech.

Tournament Lock

It is possible to put the Equalizer into a tournament lock (COMPETITION) mode. You can do this by making sure the power off, grounding (connecting) the two center pins on the Equalink interface connector, and then turning on the power. Each time you ‘reboot’ with the pins grounded, the NORMAL and COMPETITION modes will toggle. The marker will not fire with the jumper in place! Removing the jumper will allow the normal operation of the marker.

You can also change the tournament lock mode using the Equalink.

It is necessary to remove the battery after changing the tournament lock or using the Equalink to alter settings or update firmware.

Make sure the power turned off. During trigger programming, make sure that your marker has a barrel condom in place and the air supply shut off. Although it is not possible to fire the marker while in programming mode, it is always good to practice safe marker handling.

Pull the trigger, and hold it in the back position. Now, press and hold the power button for ½ second. During this time, the LED will light up green.

Now, release the trigger. The LED will light red. The marker is now in “trigger programming mode”.

Pulling and releasing the trigger will change the LED color, advancing to the next programming feature. This is also known as the “programming menu”. The following colors equate to the feature selected:

Once you have reached the last feature (alternating green/orange), an additional trigger pull will start the sequence of colors over again. This is also known as the “programming menu start”.

When you decide which programming feature you want to change, pull the trigger and hold it until the LED goes out, and then release the trigger. There will be a 2 second pause, and then the LED will flash the same color of the programming mode you are in (red=Dwell, green=Debounce™, orange=Eye Mode, etc.) the number of times that represents something associated with that feature. For example, if you were programming the Debounce™ and the settings were the factory default (10ms), you would see the LED flash green 10 times in a row, indicating the Debounce™ is set to 10ms. The flashing of the LED shows you the current setting before you change it.

Once the LED is done flashing, there is a 5 second time period to begin programming the new setting. To change the setting, pull and release the trigger the number of times equal to how you wish to program the feature. On each pull of the trigger, the LED will light up (indicating that the pull has been detected). If you decide not to change the feature setting at all, simply do not touch the trigger at all for 5 seconds. The LED will then blink green/red alternately to indicate there was a programming error, and then go back to the programming menu. The feature setting will not be changed.

Once you have pulled and released the trigger the number of times you wanted the feature setting to be, do not touch the trigger. After 5 seconds, the LED will flash a rainbow of colors indicating that the feature setting change has been accepted. After this, the marker is in the programming menu again. If you program a feature outside of its specifications (for example, programming the dwell to 1ms) the LED will blink green/red alternately indicating that there was a programming error.

Each feature and its programming are described in detail below:

Dwell

Trigger programming for changing the dwell is different than any other feature as there are two steps involved instead of one due to allowing for .1ms (tenths) increments.

After selecting the Dwell programming feature, and once the LED stops flashing, you can now pull and release the trigger once for every FULL 1ms of time you want the dwell to be. Once you have pulled the trigger the number of times you want the full milliseconds to be, after a 2 second pause the LED will blink orange and then off. You can then pull the trigger again, but this time with each trigger pull being 1/10th of a millisecond (.1ms). So, if you wanted to set the dwell to be 6.3ms, you would select the dwell programming mode by pulling/releasing the trigger until the LED was solid red. Next, you would hold the trigger until the LED went out. Next, the current dwell setting (say 7.5ms) would be shown as 7 red flashes, a pause, an orange flash, a pause, and then 5 red flashes. The orange flash is there to separate the full milliseconds from the 1/10th of a millisecond (.1ms) intervals.

The default dwell is 8.0ms. The lowest allowable dwell time is 4.0ms and the longest allowable time is 50.0ms. According to the solenoid manufacturer, the dwell should never be below 6.0ms for proper operation.

Debounce™

Pull and release the trigger once for every 1ms of time you want the setting to be. For example, if you were programming the Debounce™ to 5ms, you would pull and release the trigger 5 times. The default Debounce™ setting is 10ms.

Eye Mode

Pull and release the trigger the number of times necessary to set the Eye Mode to what you want to use.

The following is a list of the possible Eye Modes and the flashes (also trigger pulls required):

If you pull and release the trigger more than 4 times, then the LED will toggle green/red alternately to indicate there was a programming error, and then go back to the programming menu. The default Eye Mode is 2.

BIP Delay™

Pull and release the trigger once for every 1ms of time you want the setting to be. For example, if you were programming the BIP Delay™ to 5ms, you would pull and release the trigger 5 times. The default BIP Delay™ setting is 3ms.

Rate of Fire (ROF) Cap

Pull and release the trigger once for the number of times you want the Rate of Fire (ROF) cap to be. For example, 20 pulls/releases would be 20 bps. The ROF cap is only used with Eye Mode 1. In Eye Mode 2, the rate of fire is unlimited. The default ROF Cap is 15 bps.

Eye Power

Pull and release the trigger once for the number of times you want the Eye Power to be. Each trigger pull represents a level increase. So, a setting of 5 would make the eye more powerful (able to see through liquid paint) than a setting of 4. Higher values use more battery life. The default Eye Power is 10.

Firing Mode

Pull and release the trigger the number of times necessary to set the Firing Mode to what you want to use.

The following is a list of the possible Firing Modes and the flashes (trigger pulls required):

If you pull and release the trigger more than 3 times, then the LED will toggle green/red alternately to indicate there was a programming error, and then go back to the programming menu. The default Firing Mode is 1.

Programming Complete

Once you pulled and released the trigger the number of times necessary to set the function, wait a few seconds. The LED will flash red/green/orange in rapid succession (numerous times) to let you know that the new setting has been saved. After this, the LED will return to the color representing what the current programming menu item is. At this point, you can once again pull and release the trigger to toggle between Dwell, Debounce™, Eye Mode, BIP Delay™, ROF Cap, Eye Power, and Firing Mode programming modes.

You can perform a complete reset, restoring all settings to the factory defaults. To do this, just hold down the trigger for 6 full seconds. It does not matter what programming mode you are currently in. The LED will start flashing red, letting you know that a reset operation is being performed. After this occurs, you will be back to the programming starting point. DO NOT release the trigger until you see the LED flashing red or the reset will not occur.

Computer Programming Mode (Equalink)

Just as with all other Equalizer boards, this version has an Equalink port. This port allows customers to fine tune settings as well as download the latest firmware updates for the board from our website (free of charge!)

To get into computer programming mode, hold the trigger and press the power button for ½ second and release the power button… but not the trigger! Keep holding the trigger until the LED switches from the normal green color to off. The Equalizer is now ready to connect to a PC. If you accidentally get into computer programming mode, you can get out by pressing and holding the power button until it turns RED and release it. If your trigger adjustment setscrew is adjusted too far in so that it depresses the trigger switch when in the released position, the marker will go into computer programming mode when it is turned on!

Terminology

Dwell

Dwell is the amount of time that the solenoid will be activated. This time is measured in milliseconds (1/1000th of a second). The user can alter the Dwell only when in NORMAL mode. In COMPETITION mode, the Dwell menu item is not available. Possible values are from 4.0ms to 50.0ms. The factory default is 8.0ms. Changes are made in .1ms units via the trigger.

Increasing your Dwell will increase the velocity of your marker. If you are experiencing a great variance in your chrono results, try increasing your Dwell and lowering your high pressure regulator. If your dwell is too low, consistency will suffer greatly.

Debounce™

Debounce™ is the amount of time the trigger switch must be stable in the up position before checking for another trigger pull. This time is measured in milliseconds. The user can alter the Debounce™ only when in NORMAL mode. In COMPETITION mode, the Debounce™ menu item is not available. Possible values are from 1ms to 50ms. The factory default is 10ms. Changes are made in 1ms units.

If you find that your marker is double firing, increase the Debounce™ time. To make your marker fire faster due to being more responsive to the trigger, decrease the Debounce™ time.

Eye Mode

The Eye Mode is can be set to one of four different modes:

Bypass - The anti-chop system is disabled. When this occurs, the maximum rate of fire is limited to 13 balls per second to help prevent chopping of balls in the breech.

Eye Mode 1 – In this mode, the marker will not fire unless there is a ball in the breech. This mode uses a rate of fire cap to determine the speed of the cycling. The bolt is not monitored.

Eye Mode 2 - In this mode, the marker will not fire unless there is a ball in the breech. This mode works by monitoring the bolt position, and thus the rate of fire is unlimited. This is the default eye mode.

Simulate – In this mode, a ball is simulated to be in the breech. This allows you to fire the marker with just air, at the full speed that the marker is capable of firing! This mode can be used for practicing trigger pull methods, without wasting paint. DO NOT SHOOT PAINT IN THIS MODE!

BIP Delay™

The BIP Delay™ is a feature that allows you to adjust for the differences in the eye sensor, its installation, and the loader being used. When using a slower gravity-feed loader it may be necessary to have a longer BIP Delay™ to prevent balls from being chopped.

Possible values are from 1ms to 50ms. The factory default is 3ms. Changes are made in 1ms units.

ROF Cap

The rate of fire (ROF) cap sets the maximum cycle speed of the marker when Eye Mode 1 is used. Setting this value to low will reduce the usable speed of the marker. Setting this value too high can cause misfires if the marker pneumatics are very slow due to bad o-rings or swollen bolt. Possible values are from 10 bps to 30 bps. The factory default is 15 bps. Changes are made in 1 bps units.

Eye Power

The eye power controls how much power the eye system uses when transmitting infrared energy to the receiver. Setting this value too low will cause problems if debris such paint, dirt, etc. is between the transmitter and receiver. Setting this value too high can cause problems with paint that uses a clear shell (the infrared is transmitted through the shell). Possible values are from 1 to 20. The factory default is 10. Changes are made in 1 unit increments.

Firing Mode

The Firing Mode determines how the marker will fire. Possible modes are semi-auto (one pull/release of the trigger fires the marker one time), 3 shot ramping (adheres to the 2005 PSP rules), and 3 shot full auto (adheres to the 2005 NXL rules).

The firing mode controls how the marker fires regardless of other settings. For example, if the Eye Mode is set to Eye Mode 2 (unlimited rate of fire), and the Firing Mode is set to 3 (full auto), then the marker will fire in full auto as fast as the hopper can feed. Now, if you changed the Eye Mode to Eye Mode 1 (capped), then the ROF Cap would determine the maximum rate of fire while in full auto.

Reset

This option will reset ALL of the settings to the factory default! If you find that you are having problems remembering the factory defaults, just use this option to reset your board and start over! The user can reset the board only when in NORMAL mode.

sweet

"Sanity: Uniting likeminded individuals of the world since forever." "Insanity: Progressing the Human race one step at a time""It can shoot so fast your hopper will catch fire and explode due to the frustration of trying to keep up." ------------------------------------------------------System XNME LEBlack/Silver,Predator,ACPB Low Blow Bolt, 7pc. Macdev Matchstik, Macdev Gladiator,Halo B

all in all is the nme hard to maitence? I am thinking about getting one second hand but I was just wondering how hard the maitence is in general. I shoot a spool valve now and have realy now experience with a popit. I mean it seams like you jsut have top keep the bolt clean and lubricate the ram but is the ram areas/front blcok hard to keep maienced? it doenst seem it but I was just wondering. and what the little line all about on the front block?